Il-21
Ħadd matul is-Sena
Missalin A
p 358
Isaiah 22:19-23
Thus says the LORD to Shebna, master of the palace: “I will thrust you from your office and pull you down from your station. On that day I will summon my servant Eliakim, son of Hilkiah; I will clothe him with your robe, and gird him with your sash, and give over to him your authority. He shall be a father to the inhabitants ofJerusalem ,
and to the house of Judah
Thus says the LORD to Shebna, master of the palace: “I will thrust you from your office and pull you down from your station. On that day I will summon my servant Eliakim, son of Hilkiah; I will clothe him with your robe, and gird him with your sash, and give over to him your authority. He shall be a father to the inhabitants of
L-Ewwel Lezzjoni
Qari mill-Ktieb tal-Profeta Isaija 22, 19-23
Dan jgħid il-Mulej lil Sebna,
dak li jieħu ħsieb il-palazz tas-sultan; "Inwarrbek minn postok, u nneħħik minn
Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 138:1-2, 2-3, 6, 8
I will give thanks to you, O LORD, with all my
heart,
for you have heard the words of my mouth;
in the presence of the angels I will sing your praise;
I will worship at your holy temple.
R. Lord, your love is eternal; do not forsake the work of your hands.
for you have heard the words of my mouth;
in the presence of the angels I will sing your praise;
I will worship at your holy temple.
R. Lord, your love is eternal; do not forsake the work of your hands.
I will give thanks to your name,
because of your kindness and your truth:
When I called, you answered me;
you built up strength within me.
R. Lord, your love is eternal; do not forsake the work of your hands.
The LORD is exalted, yet the lowly he sees,
and the proud he knows from afar.
Your kindness, O LORD, endures forever;
forsake not the work of your hands.
R. Lord, your love is eternal; do not forsake the work of your hands.
Salm Responsorjali
Salm 137 (138)
Irroddlok ħajr, Mulej,
b'qalbi kollha,
għaliex int smajt kliem
fommi.
Quddiem l-allat irrid
ngħannilek.
B'wiċċi fl-art ninxteħet
quddiem is-santwarju
tiegħek. R/
R/ It-tjieba
tiegħek, Mulej, tibqa' għal dejjem.
Irroddlok ħajr
għath-tjieba u l-fedelta' tiegħek,
għax int kabbart ismek u
kelmtek fuq kollox,
kattarli l-qawwa f'ruħi. R/
R/ It-tjieba
tiegħek, Mulej, tibqa' għal dejjem.
Kbir il-Mulej imma jieħu
ħsieb iż-żgħar;
u, għalkemm fl-għoli,
jagħraf mill-bogħod.
Il-Mulej iżomm kelmtu
miegħi.
It-tjieba tiegħek,
Mulej, tibqa' għal dejjem. R/
R/ It-tjieba
tiegħek, Mulej, tibqa' għal dejjem.
Reading II
Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and
knowledge of God! How inscrutable are
his judgments and how unsearchable his ways! For who has known the mind of
the Lord or who has been his counselor? Or who has given the Lord anything that
he may be repaid? For from him and
through him and for him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen. This is the Word of the Lord.
It-Tieni Lezzjoni
Qari mill-Ittra
lir-Rumani11, 33-36
Ħuti, kemm huma kbar l-għana,
l-għerf u l-għaqal ta' Alla! Kemm tassew ħadd ma jista' jgħarbel
il-ġudizzju tiegħu u jifhem it-triqat tiegħu! Għax
min qatt għaraf moħħ il-Mulej? Min qatt kien il-kunsullier tiegħu? Min
qatt tah l-ewwel biex jistħoqqlu l-ħlas? Kollox ġej minnu, kollox permezz
tiegħu, kollox għalih. Lilu l-glorja għal dejjem ta' dejjem. Amen! Il-Kelma tal-Mulej
Gospel
Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi
and he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist,
others Elijah, still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I
am?” Simon Peter said in reply, “You are
the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus
said to him in reply, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to
you, but my heavenly Father. And so I
say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the
gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the kingdom of
heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall
be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”
Then he strictly ordered his disciples to
tell no one that he was the Christ. This
is the Word of the Lord.
L-Evanġelju
Qari skond San Mattew 16, 13 -20
F'dak iż-żmien, meta wasala fl-inħawi ta'
Ċesarija ta' Filippu, Ġesu' staqsa lid-dixxipli tiegħu u qalilhom: "Min
jgħidu n-nies li hu Bin il-bniedem?" U huma wieġbuh: "Xi wħud,
Ġwanni l-Battisita; oħrajn, Elija, u
oħrajn, Ġeremija jew wieħed mill-profeti." "Imma
intom min tgħidu li jien?" staqsiehom. U qabeż Xmun Pietru u qallu:
"Inti l-Messija, Bin Alla l-ħaj." U Ġesu' wieġbu u qallu:
"Ħieni int, Xmun bin Ġona, għax
mħux bniedem tad-demm u l-laħam uriek dan, imma Missieri li hu fis-smewwiet.
U jiena ngħidlek: Inti Pietru, u fuq din il-blata jiena nibni
l-Knisja tiegħi, u s-setgħat ta'
l-infern ma jegħlbuhiex. Jiena nagħtik l-imfietaħ tas-Saltna tas-Smewwiet, u kull ma
torbot fuq l-art ikun marbut fis-Smewwiet, u kull ma tħoll fuq l-art ikun maħlul fis-smewwiet." Imbagħad
lid-dixxipli tiegħu wissiehom biex ma jitkellmu
ma' ħadd fuq il huwa l-Messija. Il-Kelma
tal-Mulej
//////////////////////////////////
A reflection on Sunday’s Gospel Reading by Fr. Thomas Rosica, CSB
Son of the living God
“Son of God” must be understood against the Greek mythological background
of the site where Peter’s confession occurred. The Greek god Pan was associated
with a mountain in Arkadia and a grotto in Attika. Since Arkadia was not rich
in large cattle, the goat was its characteristic beast and Pan was thus
half-goat in shape. Pan became a universal god in Greek mythology, popular with
shepherds, farmers, and peasants. In general Pan is amorous as is the nature of
a god whose chief business it was to make his flocks fertile! He supposedly
loved caves, mountains, and lonely places, and was a very musical creature; his
instrument was the panpipe! Pan was a son of Zeus, therefore a son of god!
Peter declares Jesus to be “the Son of the living God.” The addition of
this exalted title to the original Marcan confession of “You are the Messiah”
(Mark 8:27-29) eliminates whatever ambiguity was attached to the Messianic
title. Peter’s declaration cannot help but take into consideration the Greek
mythological background that was associated with Caesarea Philippi!
Flesh and blood
In verse 17, Jesus acknowledges Peter’s declaration saying to him: “For
flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father.” “Flesh
and blood” is a Semitic expression for human beings, especially in their
weakness. That Peter reveals Jesus’ true identity indicates that his knowledge
is not through human means but through a revelation from God. This is similar
to Paul’s description of his recognition of who Jesus was in Galatians 1:15-16:
“...when God...was pleased to reveal his Son to me...”
You are the rock
In verse 18, Jesus revels Peter’s new identity: “You are Peter, and upon
this rock I will build my church” (16:18). The Aramaic word kepa – meaning “rock” and transliterated
into Greek as Kephas –
is the name by which Peter is called in the Pauline letters (1 Corinthians
1:12; 3:22; 9:5; 15:4; Galatians 1:18; 2:9, 11, 14) except in Galatians 2:7-8,
where “Peter” is used.Petros (“Peter”) is likewise used in John
1:42. The presumed original Aramaic of Jesus’ statement would have been, in English,
“You are the Rock (Kepa) and
upon this rock (kepa) I will
build my Church.” When Jesus declared Peter to be the rock upon which the
Church would be built, was he referring to the massive stones which surrounded
him in this area, and which housed temples to pagan gods and a secular leader?
Were the deaths of the Great Pan and of Christ, both occurring under Pontius
Pilate’s procuratorship, somehow linked? Did early Christians wish to see a
link between these two events as Eusebius points out in his writings?
Matthew’s use of “church”
Matthew is the only evangelist to use the word “Church” (Greek ekklesia),
here in verse 17. The word is used twice in today’s Gospel text. What might be
the possibilities for the Aramaic original that would have been spoken by Jesus
himself? Jesus’ “Church” means the community that he will gather and that, like
a building, will have Peter as its solid foundation. That function of Peter
consists in his being a witness to Jesus as the Messiah, the Son of the Living
God.
The keys of the kingdom
The image of the keys found in verse 19 is probably drawn from today’s
first reading from Isaiah 22:15-25, where Eliakim, succeeding Shebnah as master
of the palace, is given “the key of the house of David,” which he
authoritatively “opens” and “shuts” (Isaiah 22:22).
In Matthew 18:18 all of the disciples are given the power of binding and
loosing, but the context of the verse suggests that a special power or
authority is given to Peter. That the keys are those to the Kingdom of heaven
and that Peter’s exercise of authority in the Church on earth will be confirmed
in heaven show an intimate connection between, but not an identification of,
the Church and the Kingdom of heaven. The Church is the battleground between
the powers of Hades and the powers of heaven. How many times over the past
years have we felt that the gates of Hades have swung open on the Church,
releasing upon it the fire and fury of hell?
In the midst of the storms, however, let us take heart and realize that
Peter is given the keys that unlock the gates of heaven. Those gates too will
swing open, and the kingly power of God break forth from heaven to enter the
arena against the demons we face. Our faith assures us that Hades will not
prevail against the Church because God will be powerfully at work in it,
revealing his purposes for it and imparting the heavenly power necessary to
fulfil these purposes.
Our own Caesarea Philippi moments
The struggle to identify Jesus and his role as Messiah continues today.
Some say individual Christians and the whole Church should be Elijah figures,
publicly confronting systems, institutions, and national policies. That was the
way Elijah saw his task. Some say, like Jeremiah, that the reign of Christ,
through his Church, is the personal and private side of life. Indeed, there are
many in our world today who would like to reduce religion and faith to an
exclusively private affair.
Jesus probes beyond both approaches and asks, “You, who do you say I
am?” In Peter’s response, “You are Messiah,” blurted out with his
characteristic impetuosity, we are given a concept that involves both of the
approaches and transcends them. The Messiah came into society – and into
individual lives – in a total way, reconciling the distinction between public
and private. The quality of our response to this decisive question is the best
gauge of the quality of our discipleship.
Everyone at some stage must come to Caesarea Philippi and provide an
answer to “Who do you say I am?” Where are the Caesarea Philippis in my life
where I have been challenged to identify Christ as who he really is for me, for
the Church, and for the world?
Like Peter, do I struggle to accept how God
acts in the world – through, as Pope Emeritus Benedict said, “the defenseless
power of love” (Youth Vigil, XX World Youth Day, Cologne , Germany
////////////////////////////////////////////////
No comments:
Post a Comment